Review: the Amp Juice by Ruach

Ruach is an Irish family business that started his business in 2011. Nowadays they produce various products such as electric (bass) guitar, pedal boards, and effect pedals. All handmade! The company has started production of a Cajon and is the first company with an internal bass pedal in the Cajon.

The Ruach Amp Juice:

Is handmade in Ireland

Is very user-friendly due to the simple design

Weigh almost nothing (300 grams)

Is made of real cherry wood

Is perfectly adjustable

Can be powered by a 9V battery

Amp Juice

The "Ruach Amp Juice" is a fully analog Drive & Boost pedal. The pedal has custom-made circuits designed to respond to all subtle nuances of an individual's style and technique. Like all Ruach products, the Amp Juice is handmade in Ireland. The pedal has a simple control design of 'level' and 'gain' control which are easy to adjust. The pedal can be powered by a 9V DC adapter or a 9V battery.

First experience

We had never seen a wooden pedal before; we think it’s also one of the few commercial wooden effects pedals available. It is possible to use the Amp Juice for both rhythmic and solo guitar playing. Also, the pedal seems to work best when the amp has a little push.

The pedal has a slight overdrive. The 'level' and 'gain' control are easy to adjust to your specific preference. Other pedals often give a huge boost if you use the buttons a little. The Amp Juice, on the other hand, is perfectly adjustable, so these 'subtle nuances' are definitely real. When the level button is at 0, it does not transmit any sound, at five about half of the volume and when you set it to 9 or 10, the volume is high. In short, how it should just always work. Do you want to power the Amp Juice with a 9V battery? You can simply disassemble the back of the pedal and place a 9V battery there. The back of the pedal also makes it very suitable for a pedalboard, which is completely flat and therefore ideal for attaching Velcro.

Recording

To give you a good idea of how the pedal sounds about, we made a recording. One recording directly from the amplifier and one with the Amp Juice.

Finally

Finally, the natural wood look is amazing, and the pedal is very light. Altogether a well adjustable, versatile pedal with high-end looks. If you keep in mind that it’s a handmade (European) product then it is a reasonable price, some products cannot be replaced for a cheap variant! Ruach just delivers quality.